John albert gamble



(Nomaden 2 sheets-sheet 1. J. A. GAMBLE. DEVICE FOR LOWERING BOATS. No.560,490. Patented May 19, 1896.

Mme/VHS.

AN DFEW B GRAHAMA PHUTOUTHWASHINGTONS.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. GAMBLE. DEVICE PoR LOWBRING BOATS.

No. 569,499. 1 Patented May 19, 1896.

ATTOH/VE Yi ANDREW E GRAHAM.PHOTD'LUMQWASMINGTOMJ C NrTED STATES ATENTJOHN ALBERT GAMBLE, OF ASHVILliE, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DAVISE. CASON, OF SAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR LOWERING BOATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 560,490, dated May 19,1896.

Application filed October 2,1895.

To all whom/ t wea/y concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ALBERT GAMBLE, ofAshville, inthe county of St.Clair and State of Alabama, have invented a new and Improved Device forLowering Boats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of the invention is to provide a device of simple an ddurable construction the medium of whichdevice a boat may beexpeditiously and conveniently lowered, and whereby simultaneously withthe lowering of the boat ladders or steps will be carried down, enablinga person to readily descend from the deck to the boat; and anot-herobject of this invention is to hold the boat away from the sides of thevessel in a rough sea, thereby preventing the boat from becoming swampedor crushed.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the device that whilethe boat will be held from the vessels side it will be free to rise orfall with the motion of the water.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the boatlowering device, the boatbeing shown as suspended from the davits and the davits as in theirupper or normal position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough the device, the boat being lowered in the water and shown in endview, the steps being illustrated in side elevation, and theweather-covering of the boat being shown in vertical section and uponits supports; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. i is an under side plan view of theboat-lowerin g device, the bottom of the box-like casing being brokenaway in order to better show the inclosed parts.

In carrying out the invention a box-like casing or support A issupported on the deck of the vessel by suitable legs or brackets 10, thelatter being attached to the deck or other and applicable to any form ofvessel, through Serial No. 564,859. (No model.)

convenient part of the vessel adjacent to its sides, and the box orcasing is preferably provided with a removable bottom 11, in order thatits contents may be rendered readily accessif ble. A fixed bearing 12 isprojected downward from the upper inner surface of the casing, the saidbearing being provided with friction balls or rollers, and in thisbearing one end 0f an operating-shaft 13 is j ournaled, that portion ofthe bearing thro ugh which the shaft passes being` cut away or beveledat each side to permit this end of the shaft to be thrown downward orupward, as required. A worm 1t is formed on the shaft 13 between itsends, and at what may be termed the outer end of the shaft a beveledgear 15 is secured. A second ball-bearing 16 is made to receive theinner or rear end of the shaft 13, and this bearin g is pivotallyconnected with a knuckle 17, attached to a shaft 18, transverselyjournaled in the upper portion of the casing at the rear, and the shaftis provided with a handle or crank-arm 19, whereby it may be rotated,and as the shaft is turned the gear 15 on the worm-shaft will be raisedor lowered. A main shaft 20,preferably polygonal in crosssection exceptwhere it is j ournaled, has bearing in the sides of the casing at therear and below the worin on the shaft 13. The shaft 20 extends somedistance beyond the sides of the casing, and within the casing aworm-wheel 21 is secured on the main shaft, meshing with the worm 14, asshown in Fig. 2. Preferably two bracket-arms 22 are secured upon eachouter end of the main shaft 20, as shown in Fig. 1, and the inner endportion of a ladder 23 or its equivalent is secured to the bracket-armsat each side of the casin g, the ladder 23 having a second ladder 24:slidably located thereon, and the main or under ladder is provided atits outer extremity with a stop 25, which limits the outward movement ofthe upper or extension ladder 24.

Two arms 26 are secured to the top partof the casing A, one at each sideof its center, and these arms are carried forward and outward beyond thecasing and are then curved in an upwardly direction and provided withhooks or their equivalents to receive eyes on a storm-cover 27, whichcover is adapted to be placed over and protect the boat 28 when IOO onthe davits 29, and when the boat is in its normal position.

The davits 29 have a detachable coupling 30 of any approved constructionwith the bow and stern of the boat, and these davits are preferablycurved outwardly in a lateral direction and then inwardly beneath themain ladders 23 to support the outer ends of the same, and the innerends of the davits are secured to arms 29 on the outer end portions ofthe main shaft 20 inside the arms 22, as shown in Fig. 4. A rope 31 issecured to the central portion of the outer face of the casing A, andthis rope is passed below the central portion of the cover 27 and overthe top of the cover back over the casing through a guide 32, so that bydrawing inward upon the rope 3l the cover 27 may be lifted from theboat, as the under strand of the rope will be forced to an engagementwith the inner face of the cover when the latter is over the boat.

The upper or extension ladders 24 are drawn inward to their foldedposition (shown in Fig. 1) preferably by means of ropes 33, attached tothem and passing through guide-blocks 31, secured on the side faces ofthe casing. A beveled gear 35 is adapted to mesh with the beveled gear15 on the worm-shaft. This gear 35 is attached to a shaft 36, whichextends up through the top of the casing, and by means of a crank 37attached to the aforesaid shaft, the gear 35 may be turned and motionimparted to the worm-shaft 13 in a direction, for example, to turn themain shaft 20, so as to carry the bracket-arms 22 in an outwardly anddownwardly direction, as shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the davits will becarried downward and the boat placed on the surface of the water andheld there, and the ladders will assume an inclined position, as shownin Fig. 2, the extension-ladders 24.- sliding downward within the boat,thereby enabling passengers to readily gain access to the boat.

In ord er that the boat may rise and fall with the waves, the crank-arm19 is manipulated to throw the inner end of the worm-shaft upward so asto carry the worm out of gear with the worm-wheel and the beveled gear15 out of engagement with its driving-gear 35. In carrying the boat upto its normal position, the gearingbeing in working order, the crankarm37 is simply turned in a reverse direction to that required for loweringthe boat.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. In a boat-lowering device or the like, thecombination of a rotative shaft, means for actuating said shaft, davitsconnected with the shaft and arranged to be raised and lowered, a mainladder connected to the shaft and also arranged to be raised andlowered, and an extensioirladder arranged to slide on the main ladder,substantially as set forth.

2. In a boat-lowerin g device or the like, the

adapted when the davits are lowered to stand i with its lower endadjacent to the boat carried thereby, substantially as set forth.

3. In a boat-lowering device or theA like, the combination of a support,davits adapted to support a boat, arms carried by said support andarranged to extend over the boat carried by the davits, a storm-covercarried by the arms and arranged to cover said boat, and adislodging-cable passing around said stormcover and having its oppositeends connected with the support, substantially as set forth.

4. In a boat-lowering device or the like, the combination of a shaftmounted to turn and adapted for pivotal movement, means for rotating thesame, a second shaft adjacent to the first-mentioned shaft, gearing fordriving one shaft from the other, said gearing being' normally inengagement and being adapted to be moved out of engagement by thepivotal movement of the first-mentioned shaft, davits carried on theends of the last-named shaft and arranged to be raised and lowered whenthe same is turned, said davits being adapted to support a boat, andmeans for moving the first-named shaft pivotally, substantially as setforth.

5. In a boat-lowering device or the like, the combination of a shaftmounted to turn and adapted for pivotal movement, means for tu ru ingthe shaft, a main shaft mounted to turn adjacent to the first-mentionedshaft, gearing between the two shafts, said gearing being normally inengagement, a crank-shaft journaled adjacent to the pivoted shaft andconnected thereto, said crank-shaft being adapted when turned to movethe shaft to which it is connected pivotally to throw said gearing outof engagement, and davits carried on the ends of said main shaft andarranged to be raised and lowered said davits being adapted to support aboat, substantially as set forth.

6. In a boat-lowering device or the like, the combination of davitsnormally held in a raised position and adapted to support a boat or thelike at their ends, means for lowering the davits, and a ladder adaptedto move with the davits and constructed in sections mounted to slide onone another, said ladder being arranged to stand when the davits arelowered, with its lower end adjacent tothe boat, substantially as setforth.

JOITN ALBERT GAMBLE.

lVitiiesses:

AMELIA Cox, LINNIE D. Cox.

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